Published: Monday, November 19, 2012 at 7:14 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 19, 2012 at 7:14 p.m.

As the holiday season revs up this week, homes all over Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes will start to smell like turkey, stuffing and all the other good things that make a proper feast.

But for some residents, such a feast is a luxury they can't afford. So local food banks are working overtime to help.

Local food bank managers said the holiday season is among their busiest times of the year.

Ronald Pitre, manager of the Good Samaritan Food Bank in Houma, was swamped Monday morning with families.

“Some days we're so busy we hardly have time to breathe, and some days we only have a few families,” Pitre said. “Right now, it's a busy time.”

The hunger problem is less severe locally than it is statewide or nationally, statistics suggest. But a laden table is a still a dream for many people.

About 11.8 percent of Terrebonne residents and 10.5 percent of Lafourche residents struggled to put food on the table in 2010, according to a study by Feeding America, a national nonprofit network of food banks.

That translates into more than 23,000 people battling hunger.

Nationally, about 50 million families faced food insecurity, or about 15 percent.

Melodia Benoit, director of the Raceland Good Samaritan Food Bank, said these facts are thrown into sharp relief this time of year.

“We have a lot of clients who try to avoid coming here for most of the year but do come during the holidays,” Benoit said.

Both Pitre and Benoit said donations and volunteering usually increase during the holidays. Students especially show up in force when they're out of school, earning required service hours and beefing up the community service section of their resumes.

But Benoit said a lot of the boost comes from people simply thinking about it more.

“During this time of year we have a lot of schools and churches who really come through for us,” Benoit said.

There are three main ways volunteers can help at a food bank — as screeners, helping families fill out forms and paperwork; as packers, filling orders for visitors; and as stockers, checking and sorting donated items.

You can volunteer or donate by visiting or calling any of these food banks:

<p>As the holiday season revs up this week, homes all over Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes will start to smell like turkey, stuffing and all the other good things that make a proper feast.</p><p>But for some residents, such a feast is a luxury they can't afford. So local food banks are working overtime to help. </p><p>Local food bank managers said the holiday season is among their busiest times of the year.</p><p>Ronald Pitre, manager of the Good Samaritan Food Bank in Houma, was swamped Monday morning with families. </p><p>“Some days we're so busy we hardly have time to breathe, and some days we only have a few families,” Pitre said. “Right now, it's a busy time.”</p><p>The hunger problem is less severe locally than it is statewide or nationally, statistics suggest. But a laden table is a still a dream for many people.</p><p>About 11.8 percent of Terrebonne residents and 10.5 percent of Lafourche residents struggled to put food on the table in 2010, according to a study by Feeding America, a national nonprofit network of food banks.</p><p>That translates into more than 23,000 people battling hunger.</p><p>Nationally, about 50 million families faced food insecurity, or about 15 percent. </p><p>Melodia Benoit, director of the Raceland Good Samaritan Food Bank, said these facts are thrown into sharp relief this time of year.</p><p>“We have a lot of clients who try to avoid coming here for most of the year but do come during the holidays,” Benoit said.</p><p>Both Pitre and Benoit said donations and volunteering usually increase during the holidays. Students especially show up in force when they're out of school, earning required service hours and beefing up the community service section of their resumes. </p><p>But Benoit said a lot of the boost comes from people simply thinking about it more.</p><p>“During this time of year we have a lot of schools and churches who really come through for us,” Benoit said.</p><p>There are three main ways volunteers can help at a food bank — as screeners, helping families fill out forms and paperwork; as packers, filling orders for visitors; and as stockers, checking and sorting donated items. </p><p>You can volunteer or donate by visiting or calling any of these food banks:</p><p>Houma: 254 Magnolia St.; 851-5523. Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.</p><p>Thibodaux: 100 Birch St.; 447-9776. Open from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Thursday and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. </p><p>Raceland: 2084 La. 182; 537-7706. Open from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday.</p><p>Pitre emphasized that the food banks need volunteers year-round.</p><p>“Things get really busy during the holiday season. Then, once the holidays are over, people forget about us,” Pitre said. “We'd like to be able to keep things up like this year-round.”</p><p>Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.</p>